Creative Act VIII – Creativity Bucket List

Many people create a “Bucket List” of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket”. I want to create a similar list but without the morbid finality of death by attaching the more creativity & endlessness of life to it. I want my list to continually grow so I’m also setting it up as a separate category on this blog. As I continue to explore my creative being more ideas sprout & this would be a perfect place to record them. Right now, these are simply general ideas, but as I work at each one, more details will be posted. So, in no particular order, here’s the start of my:

Create Stained Glass Art It’s been a few years since I’ve had the space to cut glass. I’m very excited to be getting back to working with stained glass [see Creative Acts IX & XI coming soon!]. As I start collecting all my ideas together, this area will end up with more than enough projects to last me while I still have a working brain.

Sing in a Choir I used to sing in both my school & church choirs when I was younger. I’m always humming & singing whenever I hear a catchy tune & often bee-bopping & drumming the beat when driving — music is a necessity!

Play an Instrument Always miffed because I wasn’t allowed to play drums in our grade 8 band “because I was a girl” I’d like to learn the African drums we saw in FA100 class — either that or take up bagpipes again — I don’t think I can do both.

Get a Kayak Go kayaking as often as possible. Explore Georgia Strait. Explore the west coast of Vancouver Island.

Write a Novel A couple of projects on the go here on my blog include “Letters To My Sons” & “Natasha”.

Create Geneology Tree Mom has collected a lot of information about her Irish dad’s family [Hughes] & has started to correspond with the few Blakeman relatives we have from my dad’s English, and maybe Welsh, family. I’d like to explore the Scottish [Stewart, Fulton] side of our family further & maybe look into our possible Welsh connection. Talk with Mom & get copies of records & images that she has. Determine ancestry from birth/death records & start the trail backwards. Record digitally & pass on to family. Update regularly with names, dates & images as the family grows.

Create Collages of My 3 Sons I have tons of old photos & memorabilia of my children — some I’d like to scan & record digitally but I’d also like to make old-fashioned, non-digital collages of each of my children showing them from babies to young men. I like some of the Victorian collage pages shown recently at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Garden Both my father & grandfather were professional landscapers & gardeners in Calgary — & I’ve passed that love onto my sons. Compared to Alberta, practically everything grows so easy here! When I had houses, I liked planting & pruning — I’d like to start here with some bulbs in a container & grow from there.

Design & Renovate Home I’ve always enjoyed drafting, interior design, painting, tiling, . . . anything to do with updating older homes. Like stained glass, this area will have a never-ending list of projects.

Enjoy My Family With this digital age, I’d like to compensate for the lack of physical presence that fractures our modern family. I have my parents & most of my siblings in Calgary but two brothers who live in Toronto & Red Deer — I have two grandsons in Calgary — I have a son & grandson in Vanderhoof. I’ve started a blog for my son’s business & I’d like to set us up with a “Blakeman/Stewart/? Family” blog to connect with my large, & ever increasing, world-wide family.

Earn a Living Being Creative Long involved with the admin & technical side of business, I’d like to be able to earn a decent [I don’t need a million bucks!!] living from my creative outlets. This blog has started me on a wonderful path & I’d like to continue travelling it.

I’m sure there will be lots more to add to this as time goes on. I think I have plenty to work on right here.